I Found Love
by Lostinthought87
Summary: Jane Benning, Lois Kent, Olivia Queen, Bree Hawthorne. Emma Swan has become an expert in changing her identy, all in an attempt to hide from her past. What happens when Emma, or Elizabeth Bell, enters the town of Storybrook and meets its unique and quirky residents including Sheriff Killian Jones. Will she allow herself to stay and build a life, or will her past force her to run?


Feeling the cool blade of his knife against her throat, she tried her hardest not to react. The moment he walked in the house, she knew that the night was going to end this way – it was inevitable. No matter how hard she tried to please him, to protect herself from his outbursts, it made no difference. It always ended the same.

"Why do you insist on testing my patience?"  
By know she knew that this was a rhetorical question. He wasn't really asking her. She had learned this the hard way, with a broken collarbone and a concussion.

"You know I hate doing this to you. I wish you would just learn."  
 _Blame me for your incompetence, why don't you? Does that make you feel like less of a failure? You didn't get passed over for promotion because I was late to dinner with your boss and his wife this evening. They had made their decision long before we met tonight._

She never voiced those thoughts though. No matter how little he thought of her, she wasn't an idiot. After living in foster care for eighteen years, she knew how to survive.

She had been silent for too long; she wasn't following the script. At this point he would except her to apologize, to beg for forgiveness. She realized this as soon as she saw his face morph into severe anger as he pushed the blade closer to her throat, piercing her skin.

Before she could even begin to apologize, try to diffuse his anger, they were interrupted by the doorbell.

"Who the hell could that be? If it's one of your stupid friends, you better pray to god tonight for mercy," his voice growled in her ear before pushing her towards the door.

"Hello! So sorry for stopping by unannounced, but I had something to speak with Emma and completely forgot about it during dinner," the guest, Walsh's boss's wife – Mal – announced before walking into their house and taking a seat in their living room.

Avoiding the glare directed at her, Emma took a seat beside her husband. Clenching her hands together to reduce the shaking, she took a deep breath before looking towards their new guest.

"Emma, as you know I'm sure, your husband is a large asset in my husband's company. Sidney always says, he just does't know what he would do without him. That being said, with any employees of Walsh's caliber, I always try and get to know their families. Sidney and I believe that the families of his employees are a vital part of the firm's environment."  
 _What was this women getting at? If she says that I'm not the reason for Walsh's promotion….oh God. He's going to kill me. She needs to leave, she needs to leave right now._

Feeling herself becoming overwhelmed by memories of her husbands previous instances of abuse – the cuts, bruises, broken bones – she felt her palms begin to sweat. Taking a deep breath, in an attempt to calm herself down, Emma tried to re-focus on the conversation.

"I apologize for the short notice, Walsh. I only recently received an invitation to this event and I thought it would be a great way to get to know Emma – just the two of us. That is if you're ok with this Emma,"

Feeling both pairs of eyes on her, Emma looked towards her husband for guidance. Seeing a slight nod of his head, Emma coped his movement towards their guest.

"Perfect, don't worry about over-packing dear, no matter how much you bring I guarantee you that I'll have more. I'm always telling Sidney 'it's always better to be over prepared'. Come now, I'll help you pack". Grabbing Emma's hand, Mal walked the two towards the master bedroom.

Once in the room, Mal quickly grabbed a suitcase from the closet.

"Don't pack to many clothes, it's always a give away. Take what you need for two weeks, you can always buy more later on. Is there anything you can't go without? Anything sentimental?" Mal asked, continuing to pack.

"What? I'm sorry Mal, I…I think you have the wrong impression"  
 _She doesn't know. How could she know? This is a trick…it has to be. Walsh is seeing if I will fall for it._

"Look me in the eye and tell me your husband isn't beating the shit out of you." Mal said, stopping her actions to look Emma dead in the eye.

"That's what I thought. If you want to stay with him, say the word and I'll stop. I'll take you on the trip and you can come back home afterwords. I'm not going to force you. If you want out though, if you want a shot of a better life, then this is your change. It's your choice."

Staring at the woman in front of her, Emma gave her a hard look. If there was one thing that Emma had always prided herself on, it was being able to tell when other people were lying to her. Seeing no sign of deceit, Emma pulled a small blanket from her side table.

"This blanket, it's the only thing I have. The only thing I need with me," she explained before passing the blanket towards her new saviour.

From that point forward, it was like walking on pins and needles, waiting for something to go wrong. Yet nothing happened: not when they came down the stairs, not when she kissed him goodbye, not even when they got into the car to drive away.

Once on the road, to her destination unknown, Emma took a deep breath.

 _I'm free._

If only she knew, it were only for now.


End file.
